These are fan-favorite cut-out Christmas sugar cookies! My recipe for sugar cookies promises flavorful cookies with soft and thick centers, slightly crisp edges, and flat tops for decorating. The dough comes together with 7โ8 simple ingredients, and the cookies hold their cookie cutter shape in the oven. Decorate them with my easy glaze cookie icing, a wonderful alternative to royal icing. Get out your rolling pin and favorite cookie cutters and have fun!
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, a few more success tips, and a list of helpful tools.
The holiday season and a batch of decorated Christmas sugar cookies go hand-in-hand. Today’s recipe is a classic staple, and has been a popular favorite since I first published it many years ago. It’s basically my favorite sugar cookie recipe, but all dressed up for the holidays. And I love that you don’t need to mess with royal icing! The cookie icing below is unfussy and low maintenance, which is definitely appreciated if you’re baking a lot of cookies in December. ๐
Here’s Why You’ll Love These Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Soft, thick centers with slightly crisp edges
- Irresistible buttery vanilla flavor
- Made from simple ingredients
- Leave plain or flavor with extras like maple, cinnamon, peppermint, and more
- Hold shape while baking
- Icing is manageable for young bakers and beginners
- Freeze beautifully
- Easy-to-follow recipe used by beginner and expert bakers alike
By the way, if you love sugar cookies, but aren’t up for decorating with icing, you’ll enjoy my stained glass window cookies, Christmas sparkle cookies, pecan sugar cookies, or drop Christmas sugar cookies instead.
How to Make Christmas Sugar Cookies
You need 7โ8 ingredients for the dough. With so few ingredients, it’s important to follow the recipe closely, because each one has an important job. Creamed butter and sugar form the base of the dough. Egg and flour provide structure, and vanilla adds flavor. I almost always add a touch of almond extract for additional flavor, and highly recommend that you try it too! You could also use peppermint extract or another flavor extract instead. Baking powder adds lift, and salt balances the sweet.
So many little ingredients doing big jobs to create a perfect cookie:
Success Tip: Make sure you start with proper room temperature butter. Room temperature butter is cool to the touch and about 65ยฐF (18ยฐC), which may be cooler than your kitchen. To test the butter to make sure it’s ready to cream, poke it with your finger. Your finger should make an indent without sinking down into the butter. The butter should not be shiny or greasy.
This is a recipe that requires some planning ahead.
After you make the cookie dough, it must chill for 1โ2 hours, and up to 2 days. Chilling is a mandatory step. Without chilling, these cookie cutter sugar cookies won’t hold shape. You don’t want your snowman-shaped cookie turning into the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man (though that could work for Halloween cookies).
Also, the icing recipe below needs at least 24 hours to dry/set (but you can certainly eat them prior to the icing drying!). This is much longer than royal icing, which usually dries in 2 hours. So even though we’re not messing with finicky royal icing, we do have to wait longer to stack/transport the cookies.
After you make the cookie dough, divide it in half:
And then roll out each portion of dough before chilling:
Let’s talk about rolling out this dough, because it’s an unusual order of steps.
3 Tricks to Rolling Out Christmas Cookie Dough
- Trick #1: Pay attention to the order of the steps. Notice how I roll out the dough BEFORE chilling it in the refrigerator? Thatโs the most important trick! Let me explain why I do this. Just like when you’re making chocolate chip cookies, to prevent the cookies from over-spreading, the dough must chill. If you’ve ever tried rolling out chilled sugar cookie dough, you may remember how difficult it is to roll out cold, stiff dough. So, roll out the dough while it’s still soft (right after mixing it together), and then chill the rolled-out dough.
- Trick #2: Divide the dough in half before rolling it out. Why? Smaller sections of dough are easier to roll out.
- Trick #3: Roll out the cookie dough directly on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper so you can easily transfer it to the refrigerator. Pick the whole thing up, set it on a baking sheet, and place it in the refrigerator. If you don’t have enough room for two baking sheets in your refrigerator, simply stack the pieces of rolled-out dough on top of each other, with parchment paper or silicone baking mat in between. You can see me doing this in the video tutorial below.
After the rolled-out dough chills for at least 1โ2 hours, use cookie cutters to cut out shapes, and re-roll your scraps. Remember, you have two slabs of dough.
Arrange cookies on a lined baking sheet. I usually get about 2 dozen 3-inch cookies from this recipe. Here’s some of the cookies before baking:
And after baking:
Use My Easy Cookie Icing
My easy cookie icing recipe below is a great alternative to traditional royal icing. It’s like a very thick opaque glaze and comes together quickly with a fork and a mixing bowl. This is one of my favorite ways to decorate sugar cookies because it’s low maintenance, but still delivers pretty (and tasty) results. I have a separate cookie icing page dedicated to it, and it can be used on pretty much any cookie cutter cookies like gingerbread cookies, brown sugar cut-out cookies, chocolate sugar cookies, Valentine’s Day cookies, or Easter cookies.
(I also have a recipe for thick cookie buttercream, if you’d like that option!)
Here’s why you’ll love the cookie glaze icing:
- 5 basic ingredients
- Can tint the icing different colors
- Can use squeeze bottle or piping tips to decorate
- Manageable for everyone
- Doesn’t dry into hard cement texture
- After it dries, you can stack, freeze, and transport cookies
You need confectioners’ sugar, water, vanilla extract (replace with water to keep the icing stark white), a touch of corn syrup, and a little salt. The corn syrup gives the icing sticking power and creates a beautiful sheen when the icing dries. The icing sets after 24 hours, so you can easily stack these Christmas sugar cookies for storage, transport, or even shipping.
Yes, you can create gourmet-looking Christmas cookies like the ones above without royal icing! For more decorating inspiration, see my video tutorial on how to decorate sugar cookies.
Christmas Sugar Cookie Tools
Before I leave you with the recipe, let me suggest some useful sugar cookie tools. These are the exact products I use in my own kitchen:
- Electric Mixer: stand mixer or handheld.
- Baking Sheets: I use and love these baking sheets.
- Parchment or Baking Mats: silicone baking mats or parchment sheets (for rolling out & transferring the rolled-out dough, and for baking the cookies).
- Rolling Pin: This is my favorite rolling pin. If you have difficulty evenly rolling out dough, try this adjustable rolling pin. Itโs really helpful!
- Cookie Cutters: If you’d like suggestions for cookie cutters, I love Ann Clark brand. (Not sponsored, just a genuine fan!) The pictured shapes came from this holiday cookie cutter set.
- Food Coloring: Liquid food coloring can alter the consistency of the icing, so I recommend gel food coloring. I like Americolor brand.
- Squeeze Bottle: To make decorating a breeze, use a squeeze bottle. Theyโre less intimidating than piping tips and very easy to use. If you want to use a piping tip, I love Wilton #4 for decorating sugar cookies. (You’ll also need a disposable or reusable piping bag if using a piping tip.)
These baking tools would be great to add to your holiday wish list. And while youโre at it, be sure to check out my guide of Holiday Gifts for Bakers. Lots of fun ideas in there, either for yourself or other baker friends! You can also review my recommended Best Cookie Baking Tools and Cookie Decorating Supplies for even more suggestions.
Craving More Christmas Cookies?
- Peanut Butter Blossoms (same base dough as these peanut butter cookies!)
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Lace Cookies
- Homemade Gingerbread House
- Spritz Cookies
- Butter Cookies and Chocolate Butter Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Pinwheel Cookies
- Hot Cocoa Cookies
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Christmas Sugar Cookies Recipe with Easy Icing
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
- Yield: 24 3-inch cookies and 1.5 cups icing
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Cut-out Christmas sugar cookies with crisp edges and soft centers. This icing recipe is so simple, making decorating hassle-free!
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flourย (spooned and leveled), plus more as needed for rolling and work surface
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter,ย softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoonย almond extractย (optional, but makes the flavor outstanding)*
Easy Icing
- 3 cups (360g) confectionersโย sugar
- 1/2 teaspoonย pure vanilla extractย (omit and replace with water for stark white icing)
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup*
- 4.5โ5 Tablespoons (67โ75ml) room temperature water
- pinchย salt*
- optional: gel food coloring & sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Make sure you have allotted enough time (and enough counter space!) to make these cookies. The cookie dough needs to chill, the cookies need to cool completely, and the icing needs 24 hours to completely set. If enjoying right away and hardened icing isn’t a concern, you’ll only need about 3โ4 hours to make these.
- Make the cookie dough:ย Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Hereโs a helpful tutorial if you need guidance onย how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract (if using), and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be a bit soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more Tablespoon of flour.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.
- Lightly dust one of the rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the second rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 1โ2 hours and up to 2 days.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line 2โ3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece from the refrigerator. If it’s sticking to the bottom, run your hand under it to help remove it. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with second piece of dough. (Note: It doesn’t seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
- Arrange cookies on baking sheets about 3 inches apart. Bake for 11โ12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. No need to cover the cookies as they cool.
- Make the icing: Using a fork, stir the confectionersโ sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and 4.5 Tablespoons (67ml) of water, and optional salt together in a medium bowl. It will be very thick and almost impossible to stir. Switch to a whisk and whisk in 1/2 Tablespoon (8ml) more of water. If you lift the whisk and let the icing drizzle back into the bowl, the ribbon of icing will hold shape for a few seconds before melting back into the icing. That is when you know itโs the right consistency and is ready to use. If it’s too thick (sometimes it is), whisk in another 1/2 Tablespoon (8ml) of water or a little more until you reach the proper consistency.
- If you’re tinting the icing another color, stir in the food coloring. You can pour some icing into different bowls if using multiple colors. When tinting icing, use only 1โ2 drops at first, stir it in, then add more as needed to reach your desired color. Remember, color darkens as icing dries.
- Decorate the cookies: You can dip the cookies into the icing or use squeeze bottles or piping bags (reusable or disposable)ย fitted with piping tips (I usually use Wilton Piping Tip #4). Decorate your cookies as desired. If using the squeeze bottles or piping tips, I usually outline cookies with icing first, then fill in the middle. If adding sprinkles on top of the icing, add them right after applying icing on your cookie.
- Let icing dry/set: Feel free to enjoy cookies before icing completely dries. Icing dries in 24 hours. No need to cover the decorated cookies as you wait for the icing to set. If itโs helpful, decorate the cookies directly on a baking sheet so you can place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help slightly speed up the icing setting. Once the icing has dried, these cookies are great for gifting or for sending.
- Cover and store decorated cookies for up to 5 days at room temperature or up to 10 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Plain or decorated sugar cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Wait for the icing to set completely before layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months before rolling it out. Prepare the dough through step 4, divide in half, flatten both halves into a disc as we do with pie crust, wrap each in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw the discs in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 5, then chill rolled-out dough in the refrigerator for 45 minutesโ1 hour before cutting into shapes and baking.
- Make-Ahead Instructions & Storing Icing:ย If not decorating right away, cover the icing tightly and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. You can store in piping bags (with clips or rubber bands to seal ends), in squeeze bottles, or covered in bowl or container. Bring to room temperature before using. If icing has thickened up, add a few drops of water and mix in to thin out. Depending how you stored the icing (squeeze bottle/piping bag/container or bowl) shake squeeze bottle to mix/massage piping bag to mix/whisk in bowl or container to mix.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets |ย Silicone Baking Matsย orย Parchment Sheets |ย Rolling Pin or Adjustable Rolling Pin | Holiday Cookie Cutter Set | Cooling Rack | Squeeze Bottle | Piping Bag (Disposableย orย Reusable) | Americolor Soft Gel Paste Color Kit |ย Couplers | Wilton Tip #4
- Room Temperature Butter: Room temperature butter is essential. If the dough is too sticky, your butter may have been too soft. Room temperature butter is actually cool to the touch. Room temperature egg is preferred so it’s quickly and evenly mixed into the cookie dough.
- Flavors:ย I love flavoring this cookie dough with 1/2 teaspoon almond extract as listed in the ingredients above. For lighter flavor, use 1/4 teaspoon. Instead of the almond extract, try using 1 teaspoon of maple extract, coconut extract, lemon extract, or peppermint extract. Or add 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon. If using lemon extract, you can also add 1 Tablespoon lemon zest.
- Corn Syrup: Corn syrup gives the icing sticking power and creates a beautiful sheen on the dried icing. I don’t recommend skipping it, but you can if absolutely needed.
- Salt: I know salt isnโt a typical ingredient in cookie icing, but it helps offset its sweetness. You need just a small pinch.
- Yield of Icing: This amount of icing is enough for icing 2 dozen cookies. You’ll have plenty if you want to divide it and tint the batch multiple colors, too. Icing can easily be halved by halving all of the ingredients. (Still add a tiny pinch of salt.)
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
These are great and easy to make, so many people asked me for the recipe when I made them!
I made them and they were OUTSTANDING. A few things to note:
-Keep an eye on them! You donโt even need to let the edges get brown, for real. Theyโre done when the edges appear sort of dry (but still light colored) and the center no longer looks super greasy/dense. I even took a batch out way too early, let them cool completely while I questioned my judgment over and over, wound up throwing them back in the oven to finish cooking, and they still came out just as moist and perfect as the rest.
-I used zero flour in the rolling process. Press between two sheets of parchment and roll away. Should come away just fine, and you can roll it out as many times as necessary.
-DO the almond extract suggestion! I honestly wish Iโd have added a touch more than recommended, but they were still fabulous. Making more tonight and using more ๐
-I used Alton Brownโs royal icing recipe via his YouTube channel. Piped it onto the cookies using nothing but sandwich baggies with holes snipped into the corners! Just straight raw egg whites and sifted powdered sugar.
-I doubled the recipe and came away with like 24 cookies, cutting as many of them at 1/2 inch as I could (though most were slightly thinner). So if youโre like me and like a thicker cookie, just be aware that you wonโt be getting a crazy amount.
Iโm convinced anyone who had a bad experience with these cookies either overbaked them by accident or measured the flour via scooping it out with the cup. I bought an $8 kitchen scale off amazon to measure my ingredients for this recipe and had no issues, so I highly recommend! And if youโre making thin cookies, they probably only need half the time. Just donโt walk away from them. Thanks for this recipe!
I’m not usually an iced sugar cookie fan but wow. These were so tender and absolutely delicious. Somehow they tasted even better the next day. 10/10 easily!!
I have never made a sugar cookie recipe that comes close to this. Make it! You will be happy you did and you will be coming back to make it again and again. Even the icing was phenomenal! Thank you, Sally! This now a permanent spot in my familyโs holiday traditions.
These had incredible flavor but for me they cant out hard. What could have been the issue? The creaming?
We also had a hard time shaping it out once it chilled. We ended up letting it warm up a bit and re-rolling it. Would it make sense to do the cut outs before chilling? So chilling with the dough cut into the shapes already?
thank you!
Is it possible that they were rolled thinner than 1/4 inch? That could account for needing less time in the oven.
So I know the recipe says up ton2 days in the fridge for the dough and mine has been in the fridge for almost a week. Does that mean I can’t use it anymore? Thanks. Victoria
Hi Victoria, you can certainly try baking the dough, but you may find the cookies to be a bit dry and crumbly.
There was a typo in my first comment. Not sure what happened there. I proofed before I sent. It should say, these cookies are
โamazingly delicious โ
My apologies.
Oh my goodness! These cookies are amazingly delicious!!! The vanilla and the almond extract smells so good. I could smell it from the dough and my kitchen smells wonderful! Thanks for your recipes.
So easy and so fun! I made these 3 times over the past week and they were an instant hit with friends and family. I basically made the dough day 1, left it to chill and then baked them off the day 2 and decorated on day 3. People kept saying โno way you made these?!โ Thatโs why I love Sallyโs recipes easy enough for the home baker but professional results! A true hit this holiday season
Just the best
Hi, love the recipe! Second year using, and Iโm wondering if I can easily double the recipe? Or do I need to make twice? Also can I roll out the dough the night before? Yum! Thanks!:)
Hi Emily, you can double this recipe. You can let the dough chill overnight (up to two days).
Hello Do I need to make the icing 24 hours before decorating? im kind of confused. Thanks
Hi Ehm, no, you can decorate with this icing right away. You will just want to give the decorated cookies time to set/dry before stacking them.
Hi there!
I’ve been thinking of using paint brushes for my little kiddos to paint the icing onto sugar cookies to decorate to make it easier for their little fingers. Do you think the easy icing recipe would work for that?
Thank you!
Hi Kira, we haven’t tried painting this icing, but it might be a bit too thick. You could try thinning it out with a little extra water, but again, we haven’t tried it, so are unsure. If you decide to give it a go, please let us know how it works!
Recipe tastes great and made approx the same number of cookies as prescribed. Next time Iโll roll out the entire batch and chill. Two parts made for more offcuts and more re-rolling.
Iโm wanting to dip in icing and then paint after. Would this icing work or should I do the traditional royal icing?
Either should be fine, Kiley. This icing does take much longer to fully dry.
Hi Sally!
Can you put your icing in little bottles with tips to outline and flood at same time? I need to use bottles with the little ones. Help and thank you. (Making your choc roll tomorrowโฆalways a hit!)
Hi Doreen, yes, you can use icing bottles for this icing. Enjoy!
This easy recipe was awful. I went by this recipe for icing exactly!
I received a runny waist of time and money. It says it should be so thick you may not be able to stir. Not true. So someone should definitely check this recipe. Don’t try it. You’ll regret it.
Hi Kathy, thank you for the feedback. Iโm really sorry this didnโt work out for you. The icing is meant to be very thick, and the recipe does mention that you can adjust the consistency by adding more confectionersโ sugar if itโs too thin. Because ingredients like liquid measurement, humidity, and even the brand of sugar can affect thickness, sometimes a little extra sugar is needed to reach that โvery thickโ consistency.